Based lamp mounting



July 16, 1968 R. w. GARDNER 3,393,398

BASED LAMP MOUNTING Filed Sept 7, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN'IOR. RAYMOND VI. GARDNER FIG.I BY

A TTORN Ys y 16, 1968 R. w. GARDNER 3,

BASED LAMP MOUNT I NG Filed Sept. 7, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. RAYMOND W. GARDNER ZMM ATTORN YS United States Patent 3,393,398 BASED LAMP MOUNTING Raymond W. Gardner, Lakewood, Calif., assignor to Shelly Associates, Inc., a corporation of California Filed Sept. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 577,679 Claims. (Cl.'339-157) This invention relates to improved mounting assemblies for based lamps, and more particularly to a mounting assembly for closely packed arrays of miniature illuminating based lamps. In many applications, such as in certain multiple message unit optical read-outs, a number of miniature illuminating lamps are mounted in a closely packed array. Heretofore, when based illuminating lamps were used, each had to be provided with its own individual mating socket. Therefore, the minimum separation between adjacent lamps in an operational array of such lamps was dependent on the outer dimensions of the sockets surrounding the base. For this reason, where closely packed arrays were required, unbased lamps were usually preferred since the filaments leads could simply be soldered or clamped to external connectors, without the need for bulky socket fixtures. However, based lamps can easily be inserted in their sockets and individually removed or replaced, whereas in most cases the unbased lamps, because they are soldered or clamped, cannot.

Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide an improved mounting assembly for a tightly packed array of based illuminating lamps.

Another object ofthe present invention is to provide a mounting assembly for an array of based illuminating lamps which obviate the necessity for an individual mating socket for each lamp.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and construction for mounting small based lamps so as to permit easy insertion, removal and replacement of the lamps.

Yet another objection of this invention is the provision of a mountin assembly for an array of based lamps which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, assemble and utilize.

These and other objects are accomplished in accordance with the present invention, by providing a mounting assembly that includes a block of insulating material having an array of apertures extending therethrough and an overlying thin conductive sheet having a corresponding array of apertures formed therein through which the illuminating lamps are inserted filament end first into the underlying apertures in the block. Each aperture in the conductive sheet has an outer periphery substantially the same shape as the crosssection of the lamp, usually circular, with an inwardly extending portion of the sheet being deformable by the force exerted in inserting the lamp. Conventional based lamps have a cylindrical base structure consisting of a tubular conductive outer section constituting one terminal with a second terminal on the end of the base. When the lamp is inserted through the conductive sheet into the aperture in the plastic block, the inwardly extending portion of the sheet is bent flush with the tubular sides' of the lamp base to be held in a snug fit between the interior wall of the block aperture and exterior surface of the tubular conductive outer section on the base, thus providing conductive contact with the first terminal of the lamp. The mounting structure is completed by attaching 'a non-conductive support member containing separate electrical contacts disposed in an array for contacting the second terminal at the base end of each lamp and also containing one or more other contacts for contacting the conductive sheet. An internal conductor arrangement selectively couples each of the contacts to an external connector for interconnection with an operating circuit.

A better understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of one preferred embodiment of a lamp mounting assembly in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial side sectional view of the assembled lamp mounting of FIG. 1, taken along line 22;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective View of a particular type of illuminating lamp used in the assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the base support of the lamp mounting showing its printed circuit connection to a multiterminal external connector.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the mounting assembly of the present invention consists of three principal elements, an apertured block 10, a conductive sheet 12 and a base support member 14. The present invention is particularly adapted for mount-ing small based lamps 16, such as those generally designated as T-l or LA27 type lamps. Such an illuminating lamp 16, as shown in FIG. 3, has a generally cylindrically shaped outer cross section with substantially constant cross section throughout its length. The lamp filament is enclosed within a sealed, evacuated filament envelope 18 of glass, plastic or other translucent material. The base of the lamp 16 consists of a cylindrical outer conductive section 20 enclosing the lower end of the filament envelope 1 8 and extending downward to form a portion of a protruding base ring 22, which normally serves as a detent to hold the lamp base within its socket. This conductive section 20 is connected internally with one of the filament leads (not shown) and comprises one of the two lamp terminals. A second lamp terminal 24, connected to the other filament lead (also not shown), is disposed at the base end of the lamp 16, separated from the conductive section 20 by an insulating section 26. The second terminal 24 consists of a conductive material centrally disposed on the base and protruding slightly from the surrounding end of the insulating section 26. The crosssectional diameter of the cylindrical base of the lamp is usually slightly greater than that of the filament envelope. The lamp utilized for this embodiment of the invention has a cross-sectional diameter of approximately oneeighth of an inch. In this particular embodiment of the invention, the block 10 is of plastic, but various other non-conductive materials may be utilized. An array of circular apertures 28 is formed within the block 10 to extend axially completely through the thickness of the block, each such aperture having a diameter slightly greater than that of the cylindrical base 20 of the illuminating lamp 16.

The thin conductive sheet 12 is properly positioned on the block 10 by means of a plural ty of positioning pegs 30 which are formed integrally with the block and arranged to fit into corresponding positioning holes 32 in the sheet 12 and in the base 36. Formed within the conductive sheet 12 is an array of apertures 34 that correspond to the position of the apertures 28 in the array on the block 10. In the preferred embodiment shown herein, each aperture 34 is formed with a plurality of elongated integral tabs 36, in this case three of roughly rectangular shape extending towards the center and spaced at equal intervals around the substantially circular outer periphery. Although the integral tab arrangement shown is generally preferred, it will be recognized that various other configurations, in which the conductive sheet 12 provides a deformable portion extending into the region of the block The base support member 14 may be constructed of anyv suitable non-conductive material, such as plastic, with an array of recesses 38 corresponding to the arrays of apertures in the block and conductive sheet 12. The open end of each recess 38 is on the side of the base support member 14 disposed adjacent the sheet 12. One end of a conductive spring contact 40 is seated at the closed end or bottom of each recess 38 to extend toward the open end. A pair of further spring contacts 42 are seated in small recesses or apertures 43 formed within the base support member 14 to extend slightly beyond the surface on the same side.

Mounted on the opposite side of the base support member 14 is a multiterminal external connector 44 consisting of individual conductive segments 46 separated from one another by insulating strips and extending outward to permit connection to external operating circuits as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, electrical connections are made from the seated end 48 of each spring contact 40 held in the recesses 38 to one of the conductive segments 46 of the multiterminal external connector 44 by means of a printed circuit 50, as shown in FIG. 4, or other connective arrangement. A selected lamp 14 can thus be energized by connecting the appropriate conductive segment 46 on the connector 44 to a source of electrical power 52 by means of a suitable switching arrangement 54.

With the conductive sheet 12 in place on the block 10, the illuminating lamps 14 are inserted, filament end first, through the apertures 34 in the conductive sheet bends the tabs 36 downward into the apertures 28 in the block 10. With the lamp 14 fully inserted, the tabs 36 lie flush against the cylindrical conductive section 20 of the base, and are held in a snug fit between the interior wall of the aperture 28 and the conductive exterior of the lamp base. In this way, electrical contact is maintained between the first lamp terminal and the conductive sheet. The protruding base ring 22 of the lamp seats against the conductive sheet, thus acting as a detent to prevent further insertion of the lamp within the block 10.

Although the particular embodiment illustrated is intended for use with conventional based lamps having protruding base rings, the invention is easily adapted for based lamps that might not have such base rings. In such cases, the lamp can be prevented from being inserted too far within the block 10 and can be maintained in the correct position by other suitable means, such as partially restricting the diameter of the bore at the filament end of apertures 28 so that the lamps are held within the block 10 either with the periphery of the filament envelope or with the upper end of the conductive section 20 seated against the narrowed interior surfaces of the aperture, while leaving an opening suflicient to permit the projection of light therethrough from the filament end of the bulb.

The conductive sheet .12 used in this embodiment is preferably made of any conventional copper alloy material having good conductive properties and is approximately 0.01 of an inch thick. The sheet 16 along with its various apertures may typically be formed by stamping from larger solid sheets having the desired thickness. Preferably the sheet 16 should be at least slightly flexible so that the tabs 36 are held against the outer surface of the cylindrical conductive section 20 of the inserted lamp 16, thus insuring good electrical contact with this terminal. Also, a slight spring tension holds the tabs 36 in good frictional contact against this portion of the base to help keep the inserted lamp in place within the block 10 until the base support member 14 is attached. Obviously, the entire sheet 16 need not be made of a solid sheet of the conductive material since all that is required is that portions of the tabs 36 in contact with the lamp base be conductive, and that these portions be connected to one another with negligible impedance. For example,

4 f only the necessary conductive portions could be forme on a flexible insulating substrate material, if desired.

After the lamps have been inserted through the conductive sheet 12 and into the block 10, the base support member 14 is attached, with the base end of each lamp 16 being received into its corresponding recess 38. The free end of the spring contact 40 makes contact with the second terminal 24 on the base end of the lamp 16, and the other spring contacts 42 make contact with the surface of the conductive sheet 12. The spring contacts 40 and 42 are conventional in design, being made of a flexible metal having good conductive properties. The block 10 and the base support member 14 are held in place on either side of the conductive sheet 12, as by means of bolts 56 extending through apertures '58 provided in these members. The bolts 56 may also serve to attach the entire mounting assembly to the remainder of the optical readout on other devices employing the lamp array.

If, during operation, one or more of the lamps burns out or is otherwise discovered to be inoperative, the lamp is easily removed from the mounting assembly and replaced by a new lamp. This involves merely removing the base support member 14 and pulling the lamp by its base out of the block aperture into which it has been inserted. The new lamp is then inserted, filament end first, into the vacant aperture, and the base support member 14 replaced.

Thus, with the mounting assembly in accordance with this invention, the advantages of easy lamp installation and replacement normally associated with the based lamps is achieved without the necessity for providing an individual lamp socket for each lamp. As a result, the based lamps can be spaced very close to one another to provide a very tightly packed array in which the spacing between lamps closely approximates that previously obtainable only with unbased lamps. The space required in mounting each based lamp is only slightly larger than the maximum cross-sectional area of the lamp itself. This allows a corresponding decrease in the overall size of the optical readout device or other apparatus employing the lamp array. Moreover, the entire mounting assembly is easy and inexpensive to fabricate, and the ability to space all of the lamps closer to a central optical axis helps to avoid some of the problems associated with the optical arrangements in readout device.

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, many modifications and variations will be suggested to those skilled in the art, certain such variations having in fact been herein discussed. Therefore, the foregoing description is intended as illustrative only, and the invention covers all modifications and variations within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A mounting assembly for an array of based illuminating lamps of the type having a filament envelope at one end and a base with a first terminal consisting of a conductive outer surface intermediate the filament envelope and the base of said lamp and a second terminal on the base end of said lamp insulated from the first terminal comprising:

a non-conductive block having formed therein an array of apertures extending axially completely through the thickness of the block, each block aperture having a cross-section approximating that of the conductive section of the illuminating lamp;

conductive sheet means disposed adjacent said nonconductive block having an array of apertures corresponding to and aligned with the array of block apertures and conductive portions deformable in the region of each sheet aperture by the insertion of one one of said lamps through said sheet aperture into the corresponding block aperture, said conductive portion being held in contact against the conductive outer surface of the lamp between the interior wall of said block aperture and the exterior surface of said conductive outer surface, said conductive sheet means providing a negligible impedance connection between all deformable conductive portions of said sheet means; and

base means for receiving the base ends of the illuminating lamps, said base support means including first contact means for connecting the second terminal of each illuminating lamp to a separate external terminal and second contact means connecting the conductive sheet means to connect all of the deformable conductive portions to a further external terminal.

2. The mounting assembly of claim 1 wherein:

said conductive portion of said conductive sheet means are deformable by insertion of said lamps with the filament envelope first through said sheet apertures into the corresponding block apertures, the filament envelope of the lamp having a cross section approximating that of the conductive outer surface.

3. The mounting assembly of claim 2 wherein:

said base means is a block of non-conductive material having an array of recesses corresponding to and aligned with the arrays of apertures in the plastic block and in the conductive sheet for receiving the base ends of the illuminating lamps; and

said first contact means consists of conductive spring contacts each having one end seated in said recess and the other end disposed for making frictional contact with the second terminal on the base of a respective lamp.

4. A mounting for an array of illuminating lamps, each having a first terminal including a cylindrical conductive base section with a protruding base ring adjacent the base end of the lamp, a second terminal on the base end of the lamp, and a filament envelope with a cross section approximately that of the cylindrical base, comprising:

a non-conductive block having an array of substantially circular apertures disposed in and extending axially completely through the thickness of the block, each such aperture having a diameter slightly greater than that of the cylindrical base of the lamps;

a conductive sheet on said block having portions thereof deformable in the region of each aperture in the nonconductive block by inserting one of said lamps, filament end first, through the conductive sheet with the corresponding base section of each lamp being seated within a respective aperture of the non-conductive block and holding the deformable parts of said conductive sheet in a snug fit between the interior wall of the aperture and the exterior surface of the cylindrical conductive base section to establish conductive contact with said first terminal; and

means for selectively connecting the second terminals of each lamp and the conductive sheet to different terminals of an external circuit.

5. The mounting assembly of claim 4 wherein said means for connecting the second terminals constitutes a support member disposed adjacent said conductive sheet on the opposite side from said non-conductive block having an array of openings therein for receiving the base ends of the illuminating lamps and conductive means within said openings for contacting said second terminals.

6. The mounting assembly of claim 5 wherein each of said apertures in said block has a cross section slightly greater than that of the cylindrical conductive base section but less than said protruding base ring of each lamp to permit the insertion of each lamp into its respective aperture with the protruding base ring abutting the surface of said conductive sheet.

7. The mounting assembly of claim 6 wherein:

said conductive sheet has an array of apertures formed therein, each with a substantially circular outer periphery approximating that of the apertures in said block and a plurality of integral tabs based around said periphery and extending towards the center of each said aperture, said apertures in the conductive sheet being disposed in an array corresponding to that of the apertures in said block, said tabs constituting the deformable portions of said sheet.

8. The mounting assembly of claim 7 wherein:

each of said conductive means includes a spring contact having one end seated within the respective opening and the other end disposed to make frictional contact with the second terminal on the base end of a respective one of said lamps, and internal conductor means selectively connecting the seated end of said spring contact and connecting said conductive sheet to said external circuit.

9. The mounting assembly of claim 8 wherein:

said base support member further includes additional small openings formed within the base support member and additional spring contacts disposed within said additional openings having one end seated and the other end disposed for making frictional contact with the adjacent surface of said conductive sheet.

10. The mounting assembly of claim 9 further comprismg:

a plurality of positioning pegs extending between said non-conductive block and said base support member for engaging said base support member and said conductive sheet to said non-conductive block to properly align the arrays.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,818,380 8/1931 Cartier 339-69 X 2,664,544 12/ 1953 Caplis 33969 X 2,703,398 3/ 1955 Harrington et al 2408.16

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

J. R. MOSES, Assistant Examiner. 

4. A MOUNTING FOR AN ARRAY OF ILLUMINATING LAMPS, EACH HAVING A FIRST TERMINAL INCLUDING A CYLINDRICAL CONDUCTIVE BASE SECTION WITH A PROTRUDING BASE RING ADJACENT THE BASE END OF THE LAMP, A SECOND TERMINAL ON THE BASE END OF THE LAMP, AND A FILAMENT ENVELOPE WITH A CROSS SECTION APPROXIMATELY THAT OF THE CYLINDRICAL BASE, COMPRISING: A NON-CONDUCTIVE BLOCK HAVING AN ARRAY OF SUBSTANTIALLY CIRCULR APERTURES DISPOSED IN AND EXTENDING AXIALLY COMPLETELY THROUGH THE THICKNESS OF THE BLOCK, EACH SUCH APERTURE HAVING A DIAMETER SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THAT OF THE CYLINDRICAL BASE OF THE LAMPS; A CONDUCTIVE SHEET ON SAID BLOCK HAVING PORTIONS THEREOF DEFORMABLE IN THE REGION OF EACH APERTURE IN THE NONCONDUCTIVE BLOCK BY INSERTING ONE OF SAID LAMPS, FILAMENT END FIRST, THROUGH THE CONDUCTIVE SHEET WITH THE CORRESPONDING BASE SECTION OF EACH LAMP BEING SEATED WITHIN A RESPECTIVE APERTURE OF THE NON-CONDUCTIVE BLOCK AND HOLDING THE DEFORMABLE PARTS OF SAID CONDUCTIVE SHEET IN A SNUG FIT BETWEEN THE INTERIOR WALL OF THE APERTURE AND THE EXTERIOR SURFACE OF THE CYLINDRICAL CONDUCTIVE BASE SECTION TO ESTABLISH CONDUCTIVE CONTACT WITH SAID FIRST TERMINAL; AND MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY CONNECTING THE SECOND TERMINALS OF EACH LAMP AND THE CONDUCTIVE SHEET TO DIFFERENT TERMINALS OF AN EXTERNAL CIRCUIT. 